The New Zealand government has said that reports by engineers into the damaged AMI Stadium in Christchurch following last month’s tragic earthquake would not be made public immediately.
The city was struck by an earthquake on February 22 which killed at least 166 people and damaged many buildings, including the AMI Stadium, which is slated to host five group matches and two quarter-finals at the Rugby World Cup in September.
Murray McCully, New Zealand’s Rugby World Cup Minister, is expecting an initial engineering report sometime tonight, and told reporters that further reports might be required.
“Engineers have to be given time to do their work in a thorough and professional manner and we are determined to do that,” he said.
“Obviously anything we conclude ourselves needs to be convincing in the eyes of the International Rugby Board and others, and so it’s got to be of high quality and it’s got to be done according to proper standards.”
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No media have been allowed inside the stadium, but the New Zealand Herald hired a crane to obtain a view to overlook the ground.
The Herald reported that the playing surface is severely rippled, with a lump measuring two metres at the northern end of the pitch. There is grey “sludge” seeping out of the turf, with a patch measuring three metres in front of the Deans Stand, as well as severe liquefaction.
The Deans Stand is badly cracked, as is the Hadlee Stand, and there is silt piled up under each of the stands.
McCully outlined that parties involved in the games would be updated with a progress report, but the information would be held back from the public domain for an unspecified period of time.
“That’s a conversation we have to have with Rugby New Zealand 2011, with the Rugby Union, with the IRB,” he said.
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“We need to have that conversation to make sure we answer all the questions they might have. It’s not something we can play out in the public arena. These are our partners, we need to work with them, satisfy their concerns, and so I won’t be able to say too much about what’s in the report until such time as we’ve started those conversations.”
There are 50,000 tickets left unsold for the Christchurch games, and although there is no Plan B at this stage McCully was anxious to underline New Zealand’s commitment to doing everything they could to prepare the stadium for September.
“We’re operating on the basis that, if it can happen, we’ll make it happen. We’re waiting to see if the stadium is able to be made ready for the hosting of the games, and then we’ll look at the other issues associated with Christchurch’s capacity to accommodate people and provide the appropriate infrastructure. [But] none of this works without a stadium.”
England are slated to play Argentina in the southern island city on September 10, and Georgia eight days later, and if all goes to plan for Martin Johnson’s squad they will be required to face up to in a quarter-final match there on October 8.
“Our thoughts are with the people of Christchurch who are still suffering,” said an England rugby spokesman. “It is inappropriate to talk about our plans for the tournament when so many people have lost loved ones. We are confident that Rugby New Zealand, Rugby World Cup Ltd and the International Rugby Board, who have kept us informed throughout, will make the right decisions in due course. But until then this is about a community rebuilding after a tragedy.”